Parish Life
Welcome to the Parish Life section of Saint Peter Orthodox Church website. This is where we post news, events, photographs and more.
Welcome to the Parish Life section of Saint Peter Orthodox Church website. This is where we post news, events, photographs and more.
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second set of announcements for 9/20
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Homily for August 16, 2015
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
2/24 announcements
February 24, 2013
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
The theme of the fourth Sunday before Lent is HUMILITY and the Gospel lesson of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14) is read. Here we are taught to avoid the arrogant thoughts of the Pharisee and to emulate the humble prayer of the Publican "God be merciful to me a sinner."
II Corinthians 4:6-15: From our reading in II Corinthians we hear St Paul discuss how his and the other apostles' sufferings have brought forth life in the people of God.
Luke 18:10-14: In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer, Jesus teaches us that justification does not come to those who are proud and arrogant, but rather to those who are humble and repentant.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Let us believers praise and worship the Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation; for he took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh, to suffer death, and to raise the dead by his glorious Resurrection.
Troparion of St. John: The Forerunner=s sacred head, having dawned forth upon the earth, doth send incorruption=s rays unto the faithful, whereby they find healings of their ills. From on high he gathereth the choirs of the Angels and on earth he summoneth the whole race of mankind, that they with one voice might send up glory to Christ our God.
Troparion of the Chains of St. Peter: O Holy Apostle, Peter, thou dost preside over the Apostles by the precious chains which thou didst bear. We venerate them with faith and beseech thee that by thine intercessions we be granted the great mercy.
Kontakion of the Pharisee and the Publican: Let us flee from the boasting of the Pharisee and learn the heights of humility from the publican's words. Let us cry out in repentance: O Savior of the World, be gracious to thy servants.
CALENDAR
Sunday, February 24 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Monday, February 25
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, February 26
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, February 27
6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice
7:30 p.m. -- Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, February 28
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, March 1
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Saturday, March 2
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, March 3 (Sunday of the Prodigal Son)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Hendersons for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
February 24 Henderson Meadows/Lasseter/Greene
March 3 Algood Ellis/Zouboukos
March 10 Schelver Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker
March 17 Morris Teens
March 24 Jones Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Meadows Meadows
(Feast of the Annunciation)
March 31 Davis Strain/Dabit
Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the front pew. Please be sure to use this book when you read.
Reader Reading Page#
February 24 Tom Skirtech II Cor. 4:6-15 163
March 3 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver I Cor. 6:12-20 265
March 10 Sh. Charlotte Algood I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273
March 17 Kh. Sharon Meadows Rom. 13:11-14:4 279
March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281
March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 31 Brenda Baker Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Please be reminded of the following:
Be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take it after communion. Because this bread has been blessed, we should take care not to let crumbs fall on the floor. Parents, especially, please help your children to choose a small piece and treat it carefully.
Also, at the end of the liturgy, maintain a prayerful disposition during the veneration of the cross as the prayers of thanksgiving after communion are still underway. Please exchange your greetings with each other in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia's grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon's sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
Please be reminded that the Sacristy/Vestry which is adjacent to and behind the altar in our church is considered by the Orthodox Church to be part of the Sanctuary (Altar area) and should not be entered without the blessing of the priest for a specific purpose. If you need to speak with a member of the clergy while they are in the Sanctuary, please ask them to come to you in the nave.
House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (March 18th this year).
Quarterly Schedule Update:
1) We will not be having the Saturday of the Souls Liturgy as originally scheduled on Saturday morning, March 9th. We will instead celebrate this liturgy at a later date that is still to be determined.
2) Due to the Julian Dabit's baptism to be held on Sunday March 10th, we will not have our regularly scheduled Pot Luck Meal. Instead we have a simple Coffee Hour between the Divine Liturgy and the baptism.
Holy Resurrection Anniversary…Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton will be celebrating their 35th anniversary as a parish on March 1-2, 2013. Vespers will be celebrated at Holy Resurrection at 5:30 p.m. followed by a dinner at Table 100, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dinner tickets are $40 per person. They may be reserved by sending an email (as soon as possible) to office@holyres.net. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. followed by a lunch at the church. There is no charge for the Saturday lunch.
Vacation Church School …The Christian Education department will hold a Vacation Church School June 27-29 from 8:30-12:30 each day. The curriculum will be "Ark of our Salvation – Feast Days of the Theotokos." Parents, please be sure to mark your calendars now.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013. More details later.
* We will not be having Great Vespers on Saturday evening, March 9th, as all the clergy will be in Memphis for a wedding.
* Julian Dabit will be baptized on Sunday afternoon, March 10th at 12:30 p.m.
* The Youth Group will be hosting their annual Cheesefare Fundraising Luncheon on Sunday, March 17th .
* This year the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers will be hosted by St. George Orthodox Church in Vicksburg on Sunday evening, March 24th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation with Divine Liturgy (only) on Monday morning, March 25th, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
Coffee Hour guidelines have been posted on the refrigerator in the kitchen. These list the items to be set out for Fasting and Non-fasting Coffee Hours along with guidelines for setting out the food and for storage afterwards. Please be sure that the power switch on the dishwasher is turned off when you are through with clean-up.
Fasting Discipline for February/March
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. There is no fasting of any kind during the week following the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 24th). Following Meatfare Sunday (March 10th) meat will not be eaten again until Pascha. During the week following Meatfare Sunday, dairy products (milk, cheese, eggs, etc.) are permitted , even on Wednesday and Friday. March 17th is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day until Pascha that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, March 18th is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 28th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for February/March
February 24 The Forerunner (1st and 2nd Discoveries)
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
March 3 Sunday of the Prodigal Son
March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
March 10 Meatfare Sunday
March 16 Christodoulos, the Wonder-worker of Patmos
March 17 Cheesefare Sunday
March 18 Clean Monday
March 24 1st Sunday of Lent ; Sunday of Orthodoxy
March 25 Feast of the Annunciation
March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
March 31 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory of Palamas
When you host Coffee Hour or the meal for a Feast, please make sure that the oven, warmer, and coffee maker are turned off afterwards. On several occasions in the past, the cleaning ladies have found the oven still on when they came in to clean later during the week.
Happy Anniversaries in February/March:
February 25 -- Daniel and Elizabeth Root (#7!)
March 10 -- Fr. James and Kh. Sharon Meadows (#40!)
March 13 -- Warren and Sandra Strain (#19!)
March 15 -- Dn. Richard and Sh. Margaret Root (#38!)
March 27 -- Sam and Anne Habeeb (#9!)
Happy Birthdays in February/March:
February 24 -- Nimr Fahmy
February 28 -- Cole Parker (#8!)
March 3 -- Kay Carlton
March 6 -- Amy Surratt
March 9 -- Ian Jones
March 12 -- Alexa Zouboukos (#18!)
March 15 -- Emma Freundt
March 17 -- Cliff Stewart
March 20 -- Charlotte Wood
March 24 -- Brenden Skirtech (#9!)
March 26 -- Katherine Habeeb (#5!)
March 29 -- Sophie Dansereau (#2!)
March 30 -- Aidan Milnor (#7!)
Parish Life Conference 2013: This year St. Basil Orthodox Church in Metairie, LA will be hosting the Parish Life Conference for our Diocese on June 13-16. His Grace, Bishop JOHN Abdallah will be the speaker. There will also be a special presentation by Fr. Philip Rogers on keeping our children in the church. Parents are especially encouraged to hear his presentation. Please mark your calendars now and make plans to attend.
Quotable: "It has never been easy to hear the message of faith. In our day we are usually so engrossed in the problems of earthly existence that we simply have no time to listen to this message and to reflect on God. For some, religion has been reduced to celebrating Christmas and Easter and to observing a few traditions for fear of being 'torn away from our roots.' Others do not go to church at all because they are 'too busy.' 'He is engrossed in his work'; 'work is everything to her'; 'he is a busy man.' These are some of the best compliments that one can receive from friends and colleagues. 'Busy people' are a breed peculiar to modern times. Nothing exists for them other than a preoccupation which swallows them up completely, leaving no place for that silence where the voice of God may be heard."
The Mystery of Faith by Metropolitan HILARION Alfeyev
Worship: Sunday, March 3, 2013 (Sunday of the Prodigal Son)
Scripture: I Corinthians 6:12-20; Luke 15:11-32
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Kh. Be'Be' Schelver
Prosphora: Algood
Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
2/17 announcements
February 17, 2013
Sunday of the Canaanite Woman
II Corinthians 6:16-7:1: St Paul reminds us that as God has promised to dwell with us, we are to be holy, cleansing ourselves from ungodliness.
Matthew 15:21-28: In the passage from Matthew we see our Lord demonstrate His mercy by healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel, the women Disciples cast from them their parental condemnation, and proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying, Death has been spoiled. Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.
Troparion of St. Theodore: Great are the achievements of faith! In the fountain of flame, as by the water of rest, the holy Martyr Theodore rejoiced; for having been made a whole-burnt offering in the fire, he was offered as sweet bread unto the Trinity. By his prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.
Troparion of the Chains of St. Peter: O Holy Apostle, Peter, thou dost preside over the Apostles by the precious chains which thou didst bear. We venerate them with faith and beseech thee that by thine intercessions we be granted the great mercy.
Kontakion of the Theotokos: O undisputed intercessor of Christians, O mediatrix, who is unrejected by the Creator, turn not away from the voice of our petitions though we be sinners; come to us in time, who cry to thee in faith, for thou art good. Hasten to us with intercessions, O Theotokos, who didst ever intercede for those who honor thee.
CALENDAR
Sunday, February 17 (Sunday of the Canaanite Woman)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
Monday, February 18
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, February 19
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, February 20
6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice
Thursday, February 21
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, February 22
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Saturday, February 23
7:30 a.m. -- Bible Study with Breakfast
9:30 a.m. -- Parish Creative Arts Festival followed by pizza lunch
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, February 24 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Dn. Richard Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
February 17 R. Root Morris/Katool/Willingham
February 24 Henderson Meadows/Lasseter/Greene
March 3 Algood Ellis/Zouboukos
March 10 Schelver Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker
March 17 Morris Teens
March 24 Jones Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Meadows Meadows
(Feast of the Annunciation)
March 31 Davis Strain/Dabit
Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the front pew. Please be sure to use this book when you read.
Reader Reading Page#
February 17 Tom Willingham II Cor. 6:16-18, 7:1 173
February 24 Tom Skirtech II Cor. 4:6-15 163
March 3 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver I Cor. 6:12-20 265
March 10 Sh. Charlotte Algood I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273
March 17 Kh. Sharon Meadows Rom. 13:11-14:4 279
March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281
March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 31 Brenda Baker Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Please be reminded of the following:
Be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take it after communion. Because this bread has been blessed, we should take care not to let crumbs fall on the floor. Parents, especially, please help your children to choose a small piece and treat it carefully.
Also, at the end of the liturgy, maintain a prayerful disposition during the veneration of the cross as the prayers of thanksgiving after communion are still underway. Please exchange your greetings with each other in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia's grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon's sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
Please be reminded that the Sacristy/Vestry which is adjacent to and behind the altar in our church is considered by the Orthodox Church to be part of the Sanctuary (Altar area) and should not be entered without the blessing of the priest for a specific purpose. If you need to speak with a member of the clergy while they are in the Sanctuary, please ask them to come to you in the nave.
Memory Eternal! Our condolences go to Glen and Mildred Morris on the falling asleep of Mildred's father, Dewey Myers, last week. Please remember them in your prayers.
House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (March 18th this year).
Quarterly Schedule Update:
1) We will not be having the Saturday of the Souls Liturgy as originally scheduled on Saturday morning, March 9th. We will instead celebrate this liturgy at a later date that is still to be determined.
2) Due to the Julian Dabit's baptism to be held on Sunday March 10th, we will not have our regularly scheduled Pot Luck Meal. Instead we have a simple Coffee Hour between the Divine Liturgy and the baptism.
Congratulations and Many Years! to Cliff and Anna Kathryn Stewart (as well as grandparents Ken and Anastasia Jones) on the birth of Mary Alice (8lbs. 15oz.). Mother and daughter are at home and doing well.
Congratulations to Nimr and Mona Fahmy on the recent birth of their grandson, Simon (Hany and Julie's third son)!
Parish Creative Arts Festival: The Christian Education classes will have a festival to work on their entries for this year's Creative Arts Festival next Saturday morning, February 23rd from 9:30-12:00. There will be teaching about this year's conference theme and then time to work on the projects themselves. A Pizza lunch will be provided afterwards. Please make plans now for your children to attend.
Holy Resurrection Anniversary…Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton will be celebrating their 35th anniversary as a parish on March 1-2, 2013. Vespers will be celebrated at Holy Resurrection at 5:30 p.m. followed by a dinner at Table 100, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dinner tickets are $40 per person. They may be reserved by sending an email (as soon as possible) to office@holyres.net. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. followed by a lunch at the church. There is no charge for the Saturday lunch.
Vacation Church School …The Christian Education department will hold a Vacation Church School June 27-29 from 8:30-12:30 each day. The curriculum will be "Ark of our Salvation – Feast Days of the Theotokos." Parents, please be sure to mark your calendars now.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013. More details later.
* Parish Creative Arts Festival Workshop is scheduled for Saturday morning, February 23rd 9:30-12:00.
* We will not be having Great Vespers on Saturday evening, March 9th, as all the clergy will be in Memphis for a wedding.
* Julian Dabit will be baptized on Sunday afternoon, March 10th at 12:30 p.m.
* The Youth Group will be hosting their annual Cheesefare Fundraising Luncheon on Sunday, March 17th .
* This year the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers will be hosted by St. George Orthodox Church in Vicksburg on Sunday evening, March 24th.
Coffee Hour guidelines have been posted on the refrigerator in the kitchen. These list the items to be set out for Fasting and Non-fasting Coffee Hours along with guidelines for setting out the food and for storage afterwards. Please be sure that the power switch on the dishwasher is turned off when you are through with clean-up.
Fasting Discipline for February
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. There is no fasting of any kind during the week following the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 24th).
Major Commemorations for February
February 24 The Forerunner (1st and 2nd Discoveries)
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
When you host Coffee Hour or the meal for a Feast, please make sure that the oven, warmer, and coffee maker are turned off afterwards. On several occasions in the past, the cleaning ladies have found the oven still on when they came in to clean later during the week.
Happy Anniversaries in February:
February 7 --- Ben and Meghan Brock (#4!)
-- Jeffrey and Anca Bassinger (#4!)
February 18 -- David and Lou Turner (#7!)
February 21 -- Michael and Amy Surratt (#15!)
February 25 -- Daniel and Elizabeth Root (#7!)
Happy Birthdays in February:
February 5 -- Andrei Anicescu
February 11 -- Cassie Freundt
-- Zoe Freundt
-- Demetrius Zouboukos
February 13 -- Clyde Ellis
February 15 -- Mary Guy Lockhart
February 17 -- Anthony Zouboukos
February 18 -- Tom Willingham
February 22 -- Kh. Sharon Meadows
February 24 -- Nimr Fahmy
February 28 -- Cole Parker (#8!)
Parish Life Conference 2013: This year St. Basil Orthodox Church in Metairie, LA will be hosting the Parish Life Conference for our Diocese on June 13-16. His Grace, Bishop JOHN Abdallah will be the speaker. There will also be a special presentation by Fr. Philip Rogers on keeping our children in the church. Parents are especially encouraged to hear his presentation. Please mark your calendars now and make plans to attend.
Quotable: "Each one of us has treasure on earth, whether it be in the form of money or possessions, satisfactory employment or material wellbeing. But the Lord said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matt. 5:3). In St. Luke's gospel this is put even more simply and directly: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God' (Luke 6:20). Blessed are they who realize that, while they may possess many things, they in fact own nothing. Blessed are they who realize that no earthly acquisition can substitute for God. Blessed are they who go and sell all their wealth in order to acquire the pearl of great price. Blessed are they who know that without God they are poor, who have thirsted and hungered after him with all their soul, mind and will."
The Mystery of Faith by Metropolitan HILARION Alfeyev
Worship: Sunday, February 24, 2013 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)
Scripture: II Corinthians 4:6-15; Luke 18:10-14
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Tom Skirtech
Prosphora: Henderson
Coffee Hour: Meadows/Lasseter/Greene